Cohabitation less taboo, more common among dating couples who become pregnant

Washington – New data shows a shift in the number of couples who choose to cohabitate if they become pregnant while dating as opposed to rushing to the alter. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the soon to be released government data shows a fading of the traditional “shotgun weddings” once more commonly had by those seeking to avoid embarrassment by having children without being first married.

Christina Gibson-Davis, a sociology professor at Duke University, is quoted by the AP as stating of the trend, “The emergence of cohabitation as an acceptable context for childbearing has changed the family-formation landscape… Individuals still value the idea of a two-parent family but no longer consider it necessary for the parents to be married.”

The research is to be presented in a paper from the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.